Scholar Rock in a hard place as biotech lays off 25% of staff, narrows pipeline and loses CMO

Scholar Rock is the latest biotech to scale back its ambitions in the face of a tough funding climate, laying off a quarter of staff as well as trimming its pipeline and waving goodbye to its CMO.

The company—focused on the treatment of serious diseases in which protein growth factors play a fundamental role—will narrow its scope to focus on apitegromab, which is undergoing phase 2 and 3 trials to address motor function impairments in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Scholar Rock’s SRK-181 program for solid tumors showing primary resistance to anti-PD-(L)1 therapy also “remains a priority with strategic value,” Scholar Rock said.